I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 404: The Blackwater Incident is Over

The orcs living in the marsh wetlands have some differences in form compared to ordinary orcs.To adapt to the damp environment, the marsh orcs' skin is not dry and rough like that of ordinary orcs. Instead, it is smoother and more resilient, almost always coated with a layer of sticky fluid.

This fluid reduces friction when they walk through mud and also prevents skin ulcers caused by long-term immersion in wetlands.

At this moment, many orcs in the swamp simultaneously felt a sharp rise in temperature.

The abundant moisture in the air seemed to have been drained away in an extremely short time. This environmental change was almost instantly detected by the marsh orcs, who are particularly sensitive to humidity.

The next moment.

"Boom!"

An earth-shattering tremor came from the center of the swamp.

Gauss, floating in the sky, watched as the Fireball spell he released crashed into the marsh orc nest. The Fireball, elevated to 4th-circle power, collided with the miasma drifting above the swamp, causing the surrounding mana to instantly run wild.

Don't underestimate that miasma. It carried dense natural mana and seemed to be a special defensive measure with considerable strength.

If it were an ordinary 4th-circle magic or other attacks of similar intensity, they might not have broken through that seemingly fragile defense.

However, the upcast Fireball spell released with charge-up by Gauss was not something an ordinary 4th-circle magic could compare to. Soon, the mana-miasma defense became overwhelmed and shattered with a loud crash.

High above, the morning sunlight finally pierced through the perennial miasma, illuminating the ground.

It was as if a huge gap had suddenly been torn open in the sky above the entire swamp.

"Woo woo woo!!!"

The orcs exposed to the sunlight blew their horns.

They clung to the dense, mangrove-like tree roots, looking left and right, trying to locate the enemy's position.

Finally, in the center of the torn opening, they saw a figure with no intention of hiding.

"Human!"

A sharp-eyed orc scout immediately identified the identity of the individual who had suddenly invaded their home nest.

Every orc was familiar with humans.

It could be said that for the past few months, they had been in frequent battles with humans.

The siege battle at the beginning of the year, the subsequent selection of nest locations, the fights with those humans who fled the towns and trekked through the wilderness, and the conflicts with human adventurers who later entered this land one after another.

But in every encounter, they had almost always held the advantage.

Ordinary humans were no different from livestock waiting for slaughter to the orcs who moved in groups. At first, they even kept them as slaves and reserve food until the imprisoned humans started falling ill and dying frequently, forcing them to abandon that plan.

However, the human appearing above their heads now seemed different from those cowering, emaciated, starving humans.

His gaze was icy cold.

When it fell upon them, it instantly made the orcs feel a chill run down their spines, as if they were being watched by some terrifying creature.

Gauss took in the exposed situation of the marsh orc nest.

Bleached bones were everywhere.

Some were from beasts, but more belonged to human skeletons.

If counted carefully, the number of skeletons was probably two to three hundred.

And these were just the ones he could see. There might be quite a few more hidden in the mud.

This discovery made him frown slightly.

After confirming there were no surviving humans in the orc nest, he hesitated no longer. The White Wand in his hand was raised once more.

His first Fireball was only to break through the magical miasma in the air, allowing him to inspect the nest's specific situation. Now, he was about to get serious.

Below, some orc spellcasters caught his movement and hastily released their prepared spells.

Some were energy arrows, while others cast Counterspell, attempting to interrupt his spell preparation.

Under the orcs' watchful eyes, those magical auras of varying numbers and intensities landed on Gauss.

Then...

Nothing happened.

It was like a silver needle falling into the sea. The magical auras had no effect whatsoever.

Gauss's movements didn't even change because of them.

"Upcast Fireball!"

As Gauss brought down the Fireball, he noticed multiple orc spellcasters below engaging in a joint chant. Then, a pillar of magical energy covered in runes slowly began to rise.

"Boom!"

The exploding Fireball landed on the defensive magic. Perhaps because it was a spell used collaboratively by multiple orcs, its strength was considerably higher than Gauss had anticipated.

So, it held on for two more seconds.

After absorbing part of the impact energy and heat, the defensive magic also shattered.

Although the orc race can also learn magic, their overall talent is not outstanding.

Faced with Gauss, who is extremely proficient in spells, even with their numerical advantage, they seemed powerless.

"Boom!!!"

A mushroom cloud-shaped energy mass erupted in the center of the swamp.

In just an instant, the figures of the orcs were sent flying like pieces of paper.

The moist soil at the explosion's epicenter was blasted into a deep pit, becoming dry and hard, like a parched lake.

"Damn human!"

Two figures, one male and one female, leaped up from the ground.

"Couldn't hold back after all?"

Gauss's expression remained impassive as he used the Fly spell to evade their leaping attacks.

Although, in his judgment, their attacks were unlikely to penetrate his layered defenses and harm his body, considering that the two orcs before him were likely the leaders of this nest, not mere underlings, he decided to show them some respect.

Gauss, who had flown aside to dodge the attacks, waved his staff again.

Dozens of missiles materialized in front of him, then locked onto the two orcs in the air and shot out in unison.

The two orcs, suspended in mid-air, had nowhere to dodge.

The rain of homing missiles soon landed on them under their terrified gazes.

"Thud!"

The impacts from the numerous Magic Missiles sent them crashing into the mud at a speed faster than when they had leaped up.

"Phantasmal Killer!"

Seizing the moment they hit the ground, Gauss quickly released two illusions.

The instant the illusions appeared, the two orcs, who were still dazed and disoriented from the fall and hadn't fully recovered, immediately felt their surroundings change.

"Thrust!"

They looked down to see their hearts pierced by a spear. Their supposedly strong bodies were unable to dodge, pinned to the ground by the spear.

So painful!

"Thrust!"

The attacks were not over. Then came the second, the third, more and more attacks landing on them. Amidst the intense pain, they were pierced until they looked like hedgehogs.

After releasing the illusions, Gauss no longer looked at them.

There were certainly enemies capable of breaking free from his illusions, but the two orcs before him probably couldn't.

"Now it's your turn."

He shifted his gaze to the other, more numerous orcs.

The earlier Fireball had killed at least three hundred orcs in an instant, but the other orcs outside the attack range had recovered. Some strong warriors drew their bows and nocked arrows, trying to attack this enemy who had invaded their home. Other orc mothers held their young orc children and fled quickly towards the outskirts.

But what they didn't know was that even if they fled outside, they still couldn't escape.

In the distance, the other members of the Red Dragon Guild began their assault.

Hephaestus also cooperated with them in slaughtering the orcs on the outskirts.

Gauss used magic to freeze the nearby swamp, trapping the lower halves of many orcs in the frozen marsh, rendering them immobile.

Then, a Cloud of Daggers slowly advanced forward. The Cloud of Daggers' movement speed wasn't particularly fast, but the orcs with their lower bodies frozen had already lost their mobility. In the blink of an eye, they were turned into mincemeat.

Whether they were the seemingly strong male orcs, the relatively slender female orcs, or even those powerless little brats, they all shared one common fate before magic: meeting death.

Gauss would not spare a single orc within his sight.

Just as they had not spared the humans who had once been enslaved in their nest.

Whether they were "cowards" whose only thought was to flee and preserve their miserable lives, or these "orc heroes" who fought desperately, throwing themselves into suicidal charges to buy time for their kin to escape, as long as they appeared within Gauss's attack range, none could last more than a single encounter.

This place had once been their safest home, but now it was fraught with danger.

Whether it was the ice pillars that froze orcs, the water bodies that slaughtered orcs wantonly like living creatures, or the assassins hidden in the mist moving swiftly, all were enough to take an orc's life in an instant.

Gauss's orc title also achieved a triple jump during this process.

From Orc Hunter, to Orc Slayer, to Orc Butcher.

And the purple-quality racial talent, Encountering Evil Hour, was also slowly drawing power from the monster corpses.

After a good while, until no moving orc could be seen in his field of vision, Gauss slowly lowered his staff.

"Magic Missile Proficiency +4"

"Gauss Field Proficiency +3"

"Fire Bolt Proficiency +6"

"Fireball Proficiency +5"

"Control Water Proficiency +7"

"Cloud of Daggers Proficiency +5"

...

A series of prompts for skill proficiency gains popped up.

This was why Gauss often used a large number of spells when exterminating monster nests.

He discovered that under the effect of the Encountering Evil Hour talent, any spell used would increase in proficiency.

Of course, he had also tried using a single spell to see if he could gain more proficiency experience, but after finding the increase wasn't much greater, he changed his strategy, adopting a practice strategy of using as many different spells as possible.

He glanced at the proficiency level of Gauss Field. After gaining 3 proficiency points, it had now reached lv5 (165/200), getting closer and closer to leveling up.

Besides the increase in existing skill proficiencies, Gauss also gained a new skill from the orcs through Encountering Evil Hour.

"Blood Rage."

When activated, this skill could accelerate blood flow, putting muscles into a blood-engorged enhanced state, increasing physical strength and recovery ability to a certain extent.

For warriors, it should be a good skill.

After using Locate Creature once to confirm there were no living marsh orcs within several hundred meters, Gauss slowly descended.

Now, this swamp, unsuitable for footing, had transformed into a different scene.

Some areas were frozen into solid ice, not yet melted. Others had their moisture baked dry, turning into arid land. Two seemingly opposite climatic landscapes now coexisted simultaneously.

Gauss glanced into the distance.

"Marsh Orc killed *1"

On the Monster Encyclopedia, kill prompts were still popping up continuously. That was the result of his team members' fierce battle.

However, the speed was visibly slower than before. The sounds of fighting were also gradually diminishing. It was clear the battle was entering its final stages.

He chose not to intervene further. Instead, he drank a few mana potions, silently recovering the mana consumed within his body.

"Total Monsters Killed: 35321"

Finally, the Monster Encyclopedia's total kill count stopped at this number.

In other words, this marsh orc nest, combined with the orcs killed at dusk yesterday, had contributed a total of two thousand three hundred kills to him.

"Not bad at all."

Gauss thought silently to himself.

Apart from the first goblin-like creature nest encountered, where the leader, the goblin-like creature spellcaster, possessed Divine Material, adding some variables to the clearing process, neither the subsequent goblin nest nor the now-destroyed marsh orc nest before him had any unexpected occurrences.

But this was the normal phenomenon. The goblin-like creature incident was the exception.

If the leader of every monster nest had hidden means like that goblin-like creature incident, the casualty rate among adventurers would probably rise significantly.

He surveyed his surroundings.

The destruction of the marsh orc nest also meant that the three commissions he had accepted for this trip were all successfully completed.

His gains from this trip were substantial.

Not only did he incidentally complete a commission for the blacksmith Grom, but he also helped Luna kill the traitor, took in a portion of the members from the Fang of the Pale Wolf adventuring guild, greatly expanding his team's strength.

As for himself, he also clearly felt he had gained a considerable amount of professional advancement experience. Even though he had just broken through to level 7 a few days ago, the Mana Cup deep within his consciousness was already filling up again, as if he were a professional who had been honing at level 7 for several years.

So, it was time to return.

After all, the surrounding areas of Blackwater Town had already fallen into monster territory. Traveling through them required extra caution.

Even Gauss felt somewhat weary at heart at the moment.

He began to miss the relatively comfortable atmosphere of towns, the comfortable bathhouses, the delicious tavern food...

The wilderness only offered wind, sun exposure, and the constant need to be wary of monster movements. Moreover, the members of his Red Dragon Guild were also mentally fatigued.

Under Gauss's command, the Red Dragon Guild quickly cleaned up the battlefield, looted the spoils, and the group began heading towards the direction of Blackwater Town.

A week passed in a flash.

Looking at the distant white high walls, Gauss's mood finally settled.

"Falim, we're back."

Yes, he did not return to Grayrock Town but came directly back to Falim.

Whether they were old members of the Red Dragon Guild or later additions from the Fang of the Pale Wolf, the vast majority were local residents of Falim and surrounding towns. Returning early meant they could reunite with their families a day earlier.

Furthermore, the Red Dragon Guild needed to submit commissions and handle the subsequent merger work with the Fang of the Pale Wolf, so Gauss had the team return directly to Falim.

"Guild Leader Gauss, Luna, you've returned."

Luna's trusted aides, two Master-level professionals, having received advance notice of the Red Dragon Guild's return, were already waiting respectfully at the city gate.